Picking Up the Pieces
by Ebony-Jayne
Summary: Brittany is there for Santana after the disastrous coming out to her Abuela and some of Brittany's own insecurities pop up in the comforting process...Brittana oneshot.


Title: Picking Up the Pieces

Summary: Brittany is there for Santana after the disastrous coming out to her Abuela and some of Brittany's own insecurities pop up in the process...Brittana.

Adding to the vast collection of 'Brittany-comforts-Santana-after-her-Abuela-kicks-her-out' fics because I'm addicted to writing the angst...

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or it's characters…

-G-

Brittany sat on the Lopez's porch, waiting anxiously for Santana to get home from her Abuela's house. Santana was going to tell her Abuela that she liked girls and she had told Brittany that she would text her when she got home, but Brittany's nerves and impatience had gotten the best of her and so she had decided to just chill on Santana's porch swing with her iPod until she got home.

She had been there about a half an hour listening to an artist called Kimbra that Quinn had gotten her into, when the front door opened and Santana's Mom, Maria, came out and sat down next to her on the swing. Brittany sat up straight, her posture stiffening.

"Waiting for Santana?" Maria asked kindly.

"Uh huh. Yeah," Brittany said shyly looking at her hands. This was the first time she had seen or spoken to either of Santana's parents since Santana had come out to them a few days prior and she wasn't really sure where she stood with them. She kept her mouth shut so that she wouldn't say the wrong thing.

"I doubt she'll be much longer," Maria said sadly. "Mami isn't going to take this so well."

"She isn't?" Brittany crinkled her brow in confusion as she recalled the conversation she had had with Santana earlier in the day when Santana had been psyching herself up for this. "But Santana said that you told her you weren't sure how Abuela would take it," Brittany looked at Maria, confusion and accusing marring her features.

"I know I did," Maria looked down at her hands guiltily. Brittany's mind clicked and she realised that Maria had lied to Santana earlier.

"It's not nice to lie to people," Brittany scolded, staring at her searchingly, trying to uncover her motivation for lying to her daughter.

"Sometimes a lie is for the best Brittany," Maria sighed and Brittany stared at her blankly, confused again. "If I had told Santana that Abuela would react badly then she might have been too scared to tell her. Then Abuela would have seen it on the TV or heard about it from someone at her Church and she would have been even more upset that everyone knew and Santana hadn't told her. You know how Abuela feels about lying," Maria explained.

"Yes," Brittany nodded fervently. She remembered very clearly when Abuela had found out that Brittany had told a lie to her parents one time about scratching her Mom's car, and had scolded her furiously, telling her that even if you thought telling someone the truth would make them angry, that they will be far less angry than if you lie to them and they find out the truth later.

"At least this way she might not be as angry, and she might accept it faster. She will accept it one day," Maria said hopefully and Brittany wasn't sure who she was trying to convince in that moment; Brittany or herself. "She loves Santana far too much to cut her out of her life forever." They sat in silence for a few minutes, letting that sink in.

"San is going to be devastated," Brittany mused sadly.

"She's going to be absolutely heartbroken," Maria nodded. "She's going to really need you right now Brittany. But I know you know that. I know you'll take great care of her…I know how much you love her." Brittany blushed under Maria's knowing gaze and turned her own gaze to her hands in her lap, not sure what to say again. "Brittany, you put the light in Santana's life. Miguel and I have always known that," Brittany's heart soared in her chest at hearing such a huge compliment. "We were stunned when she first told us that she's gay and that the two of you are together-together. We still are I guess. We're still getting used to this and it's going to take some time for us to be totally ok with it. But even though my dream of how her life would turn out is changing dramatically, I couldn't be happier that she's with you. I can't imagine anyone who could ever love my daughter more than I know you do," Maria reached out to cup Brittany's cheek gently. "It's not what we pictured her life would be but that's ok…or it will be ok. And I can sleep easy at night knowing that unless there's something you're not telling me, she's not going to end up pregnant like Quinn," she joked to break the seriousness of the moment making Brittany giggle. "Brittany, promise me you'll do everything you can to help her through this? Please?" Maria pleaded, abruptly back to serious.

"I promise," Brittany stared at Maria in confusion. If Maria knew how much she loved Santana then surely she knew that Brittany would do anything and everything she could possibly think of to get her through anything in her life? Brittany's thoughts were interrupted when Maria stood up and moved toward the door.

"Good luck," Maria told her, nodding to where Santana's car had just come around the corner. Brittany smiled at Maria and tucked her phone and iPod into her pocket before moving to stand next to where Santana always parked her car. Her heart sank when Santana opened the door and Brittany saw the look on her face. She looked hollow and dark. _Like someone sucked all the sunshine out of her…_Brittany thought sadly. Santana's eyes were red, puffy and damp, her eye makeup smeared down her cheeks. Brittany thought she looked like she had cried all the way home and her heart ached in her chest as a lump rose in her throat. Brittany watched in sad silence as Santana closed the door and locked the car, her movements slow and weirdly robotic. When she turned around Brittany reached out for her but Santana shrugged her hands away.

"No Brittany," her voice shook badly but she managed to keep herself together as she walked away and into the house. _She's_ _trying so hard to be brave…_Brittany swallowed hard and followed Santana, smiling sadly as she walked through the door Santana was holding open for her.

"Thanks," Brittany said softly. She tried to casually brush her hand against Santana's but the shorter girl shifted her hand away, rejecting Brittany's touch again. Brittany sighed sadly as Santana closed the front door and made a beeline for the stairs, not even waiting for Brittany. By the time Brittany got upstairs, Santana had locked herself in the bathroom and turned the shower on, so Brittany sat down on her bed and took some time to calm her own raging emotions and prepare for the night ahead. After about ten minutes Brittany had a sudden idea and leapt up off Santana's bed. She knew that Santana would be ages in the shower, trying desperately to cry out all of her tears in there so that she wouldn't do it in front of Brittany, so she rushed around getting everything ready.

She laid Santana's favourite crimson red fuzzy blanket on Santana's side of the bed and then rifled through her drawers, finding her favourite worn pink flannel pajama pants and the pink cotton t-shirt she always paired with them and laid them out on the bed along with some comfy cotton boyshorts. She put 'The Incredibles' in the DVD player knowing it was Santana's favourite animated movie and put the remote on her own side of the bed. Then she ran downstairs to the kitchen. She poured two glasses of chocolate milk and put some of Maria's homemade chocolate chip cookies on a plate and carried it all back upstairs, pausing briefly to grab the plastic animal straws that Brittany had begged Santana to buy her a few weeks ago on the way past. Santana still hadn't come out of the bathroom when Brittany got upstairs but the water was off and her hair dryer was on so Brittany hoped she wouldn't be much longer. She pulled her own pajamas out of her bag and pulled them on before pulling the curtains and turning Santana's dim lamps on to light the room softly. She picked up the two glasses from where she had left them and put one on each nightstand and after careful consideration she decided to let Santana have the duck straw tonight and keep the creepy elephant one for herself.

She jumped when she turned around to find Santana watching her from the doorway in nothing but a towel. She barely had time to react to her presence before Santana had closed the door and was pouncing on her, dropping her towel and pushing her tongue forcefully between Brittany's lips. Brittany kissed back for a second before pulling away and she let out a small frustrated sigh when Santana's mouth immediately latched onto her collarbone. Her fingers hooked into the loose collar of Brittany's top, pulling it downward until she had freed one of Brittany's breasts, her fingers leaving the top to toy with her exposed nipple. Brittany bit back a moan and gently reached up and removed the hand from her breast, gently pushing Santana away and covering herself back up.

"No Santana. Not tonight," she said gently, reaching up to stroke her freshly washed and dried hair out of her eyes. Brittany felt a lump rise in her throat when Santana's forehead pinched and her lips began to tremble the way they always did when she was about to cry but she refused to give in. Santana's use of sex as a distraction or a source of comfort was a worry to Brittany and she was determined to teach her girlfriend that sex wasn't really what she was looking for or what she needed at times like this. Brittany swallowed hard and leaned forward, pressing her lips to the crinkled skin between Santana's eyes then each of her eyelids in turn before pulling back and pushing Santana backward by her hips until the backs of her knees were against the bed. "Sit down," she instructed gently. Santana did and Brittany could see that she was fighting a fierce battle to contain her emotions. Brittany reached for the t-shirt and slid it gently over Santana's head, helping her to ease her arms through the holes before stroking her shoulders gently. She grabbed Santana's panties and pajama pants and carefully eased them on, pulling both garments up to her knees before pulling her to stand so that she could pull them the rest of the way up, resting her hands on narrow hips when she was done.

"Please?" Santana begged, pressing close to Brittany and pressing a kiss to her neck. "Please Brittany?" Santana slid her hand to Brittany's chest again palming a breast through her shirt, leaving no confusion as to what she was begging for.

"No sweetheart," Brittany soothed as she gently removed the hand again and cuddled Santana close. Santana, as expected, rejected the touch and pushed Brittany away. "Come on," Brittany kept her voice gentle, trying to make sure that Santana didn't think that she was punishing her or anything. "We're going to snuggle together and watch the Incredibles and have milk and cookies," she said, fighting to keep her voice calm and gentle. Santana's face had taken on that scrunched, about-to-cry look again but she obediently climbed onto the bed, settling herself against the pillows. Brittany grabbed the cookies and settled in beside her, balancing the plate on their legs where they pressed together. "I got you chocolate milk," Brittany pointed to the glass beside Santana, who stared at it for a few seconds.

"You gave me the duck," she said, voice wobbly. Brittany just smiled and pushed play on the remote, knowing it was what Santana needed right now. She would talk or cry when she needed to. "You hate the creepy elephant," Santana spoke again a few moments later.

"So do you," Brittany replied, smiling softly again and reaching for her own milk.

They had gotten to Santana's favourite part of the movie when she finally crumbled. Edna was informing Robert that his suit was a 'hobo suit' when Santana started to giggle. She giggled harder when Edna started shrieking about capes and then all of a sudden she wasn't laughing anymore, she was sobbing; harsh wailing sobs that felt like they were ripping Brittany's heart right in two. Brittany put her empty glass down in alarm as Santana curled in on herself, gripping at her own chest as she struggled to breathe. Brittany felt panic bubbling up inside her own chest as she shifted closer to Santana, hauling her inelegantly into her lap.

"Sh-she...ha-hates...me!" Santana forced out brokenly between sobs. Brittany hugged her tighter.

"She doesn't hate you Santana," she said soothingly. "She might not like that you're a lesbian but she doesn't hate _you_. She's your Abuela. She could ever hate you. It's impossible," Brittany shifted uneasily as Santana's sobs increased in intensity again.

"It's...n-not...f-fair!" Santana sobbed.

"I know it's not," Brittany's voice wobbled badly as she tried to reassure Santana who seemed to be having more and more trouble breathing the more she cried.

"B-Britt...this...s-s-sucks...so...m-much," the smaller girl was really having to force her words out now.

"I know, I know," Brittany chanted softly, lifting a hand to card her fingers through inky black hair, as she rubbed Santana's back with the other. Santana was trying to say something else but she was breathing way too hard and it came out garbled. "I can't understand what you're saying sweetheart. I'm so sorry," Brittany tried desperately to keep herself from panicking. Every hoarse sob Santana emitted felt like a knife through her chest. She had seen Santana cry thousands of times – the girl was a lot more sensitive than anyone at school would have ever suspected and the slightest thing could hurt her so deeply and send her sobbing in Brittany's arms – but she had never seen her cry like this. She had stopped the awful wailing but she was still sobbing forcefully and Brittany could do nothing but hold her tight and wait for her to stop. "I love you Santana," Brittany heard the wobble in her own voice as she spoke and tried without success to hold in her own tears. Santana's breathing suddenly got much, much shorter and harsher and she stared up at Brittany with pure panic in her dark brown eyes.

"Brittany!" she gasped out. Brittany could feel Santana's heart pounding where her hand rested on the dark haired girl's back, feel her trembling like crazy in her arms and see the sheen of sweat on her face and neck. Brittany felt a bolt of terror course through her and her stomach jumped into her throat when Santana managed to gasp out two words. "Help me!" in that moment her best friend, the girl she loved, looked like she was about to keel over in her arms. Brittany twisted toward the door and shouted desperately for Santana's Mom.

"Oh Santana!" Brittany jumped at the sound of Maria's voice a few seconds later; she hadn't even heard the door open, because Santana had started to fight against Brittany's hold to try to get away from her. Maria climbed onto the bed next to Brittany and wrapped her arms around both girls, holding tight. "Santana honey you have to breathe," she soothed as Santana's sharp, painful sounding gasps escalated even more and she started struggling like mad to try and get away from Brittany, pleading breathlessly for her Mom to help her. "Sit her up a little bit Britt," Maria instructed the terrified blonde gently, tugging on her daughter to get her in a more upright position, sitting her in the vee of Brittany's legs with her back pressed to the taller girl's chest, allowing Brittany to get a better grip on her to keep her from trying to run away. "Britt I need you to breathe with me and Santana I want you to feel Brittany's breathing and try to breathe with her ok. You're going to be ok, you're just panicking," she spoke soothingly. Santana's eyes glazed over and she suddenly seemed to be looking through her mother instead of at her, and she went even limper in Brittany's arms. "Brittany, I want you to talk or tell a story or sing something to Santana ok?" Maria instructed, seeing immediately that Brittany was way too distracted and frightened to calm herself, especially when Santana chose that moment to gasp out something mostly incoherent about dying.

"Is she dying?" Brittany asked, her voice high and terrified.

"No baby girl, she's having a panic attack," Maria told Brittany gently, reaching up to stroke her cheek. "Santana, you're not dying sweetheart. You're ok; you're having a panic attack."

"Should we call 911?"

"No need to," Maria told her. "I see them all of the time at work and I've had them myself. There's not really anything they can do for her in the ER that we can't do here. She'll be over the worst of it pretty soon," Maria explained, stroking Santana's forehead gently. "We just have to help her through it." Brittany looked at Maria sceptically, but then her memory kicked in and she remembered that Maria's 'work' _was_ the Emergency Room at the hospital and that she would definitely know what she was talking about. "Can you sing her something? Or tell her a story?" she asked Brittany again. Brittany nodded and sucked in a shaky breath, her terrified baby blues locked on Maria's dark brown eyes as she tried to calm herself enough to speak.

"San, I know you're really scared right now, but you're going to be ok," Maria smiled a little victorious smile as she heard Brittany's own panicked breathing begin to regulate. "I was spying on Rachel for Coach Sue the other day and I heard her singing a song, and I loved it and it kind of made me think of us…well a tiny little bit anyway, so I told her that I wouldn't tell Coach Sylvester anything if she taught me the song so that I could sing it to you. It's called One Day," Maria was monitoring Santana's pulse with one hand on her wrist and was stroking her face with the other and was pleased when her symptoms began to ease a tiny bit. Brittany cleared her throat and began to sing.

"_Absence make her heart grow fonder  
>While I'm conquering the last frontier<br>Lately I've found myself wonderin' out loud  
>Wonderin' what I was doin' here<em>

Maria watched as Santana's eyes became slightly less glazed as Brittany's gentle voice floated over her. The sheer terror was still there but she was at least pushing through the horrific tunnel vision sensation that Maria knew she had been caught in.

One day you'll understand how much you have me  
>One day you'll realise we have it easy<br>I can't offer you the future - I don't know it myself  
>All I can offer you is me<br>I'm all I can offer you right now

Brittany heard Santana's breathing start to become less choked and forced as she sang and felt some of her own terror dissipate as she hugged Santana a little tighter to her chest.

Patience make her heart grow stronger  
>Reassure her she's where I want to be<br>Never was the grass ever greener  
>I'm about ready as I'll ever be<p>

Santana's trembling began to lessen and her inhales began to get longer and deeper as opposed to the short, sharp, shallow hitching from earlier.

"That's good, Britt, keep going," Maria smiled. "That's it Santana, you're doing really well. Just keep trying to take deep breaths."

And one day you'll understand how much you have me  
>One day you'll realise we have it easy<br>If an expression of love is what you need to believe  
>All I can offer you is me<br>I'm all I can offer you right now"

Brittany frowned then, unsure of how the song ended. "That's all I know," she told Maria dejectedly.

"That's ok Britt. You did really well," Maria reached up to brush Brittany's hair out of her eyes.

"M-Mom," Santana managed to get out.

"Hi baby," Maria soothed.

"W-what's wrong w-with m-me?" Santana asked, her eyes still terrified.

"You're having a panic attack. You're ok," Maria told her gently. "Brittany and I are here. You're safe."

"I feel like I'm d-dying," tears spilled down Santana's cheeks and her breathing began to speed up again. Brittany began to hum 'You are my sunshine' under her breath and Santana twisted a little in her arms, needing to see her face. Brittany managed a scared, watery smile and it made Santana's heart speed up again.

"I know," Maria said softly and Brittany looked up to find that she had tears in her eyes. They sat quietly for a little while; just listening to each other's breathing and trying to calm everything down. When Santana took a deep shuddery breath, Brittany held her tighter against her and nuzzled her nose against the back of her neck before dropping her chin onto her shoulder. Santana immediately turned her head to push her slightly clammy cheek against Brittany's. They sat like that for a long while, Santana's breathing slowly evening out into a regular rhythm. They were mostly still and silent, aside from the occasional nuzzle or whispered 'You're ok' or 'I love you' from Brittany.

"I thought I was going insane. I was so scared," Santana whimpered eventually, breaking the long silence.

"Panic attacks are one of the most terrifying things you'll ever experience," Maria reached out to brush away her fresh tears. "You're probably not going to feel too fabulous for the next few hours. Your heart will probably speed up and slow down and you'll probably keep feeling panicky for a while, but you're past the worst of it. You probably won't be able to but try to sleep ok?" Maria told her.

"I feel wide awake. And, like, hyper alert," Santana told her, scrunching her face in confusion.

"Adrenaline," Maria explained. "You'll crash pretty hard when it wears off. Maybe you could watch a movie or something in the mean time? Try to distract yourself a bit?" she suggested.

"We could watch the Lion King? Or Aladdin? You love Aladdin," Brittany suggested in a shaky voice. As she spoke she had taken to stroking every inch of Santana's bare arms with her fingertips and nuzzling her face against her neck and shoulder, trying to instil as much comfort in her girlfriend as she possibly could. Santana nodded at her suggestion, knowing Brittany would feel it.

"Do you want me to stay?" Maria asked, unable to fight back a smile at Brittany's affectionate touching. "If you don't I'll be right next door and you can holler if you need anything."

"I'll be ok," Santana said as bravely as she could. But her voice was more vulnerable than Brittany had ever heard it before.

"Ok," Maria leaned in to kiss her forehead. She pulled back a little and hesitated before leaning in to do the same to Brittany. "Lion King or Aladdin?" she asked, walking over to Santana's DVD collection.

"Nemo," Santana said in a tiny voice making Brittany giggle when she blushed at her own choice. Maria located the DVD and put it in the player.

"Yell if you need me," Maria told them. "If you feel the panic building up, just take some deep breaths ok? You're ok." Santana nodded softly and Maria smiled before walking out and closing the door behind herself. Brittany hit play to start the movie and scooped Santana up, rearranging them both so that she was leaning back against the pillows with Santana now sitting sideways between her legs and cradled in her arms.

"I love you," she whispered, nuzzling again. "Don't ever scare me like that again." She felt emotion welling up inside her and tried to push it down, but the tears wouldn't be held back. She did manage to keep her breathing even and keep her chest from hitching though and she figured that Santana wouldn't notice her crying. Brittany frowned angrily at herself. If the roles had been reversed then Santana would have been so strong for her, but here she was, crying when_ she_ should have been strong for _Santana_. She turned her attention to the screen and tried to push everything that she was feeling away. "Dory and Marlin are like you and me," Brittany forced out, trying to keep her voice flat and emotionless as she spoke.

"How so?" Santana asked, not taking her eyes off of the screen.

"Well, I'm kind of dumb and I forget things all of the time and you always look out for me, even though I annoy you sometimes when I say stupid things," Brittany explained in that same flat, emotionless voice. She jumped when Santana flinched hard in her arms as if she had been hit. "What? What's wrong?" she asked, alarmed.

"Don't do that Brittany!" Santana said tightly. Her voice tightly controlled but she was unable to hide the anger in her eyes. "Just don't do that!" her voice became a little harsher.

"What? What did I do?" Brittany asked blankly, having no clue as to what she had done.

"Don't call yourself stupid! Don't put yourself down all of the time. I hate it! It makes my heart ache and it makes me feel sick to my stomach to think that that's how you see yourself!" Santana had turned in Brittany's arms and grabbed either side of her face, angry brown eyes boring dangerously into her own confused blue ones.

"But I am," She said softly. "I forget things-," she began, trying to explain to Santana that it was just the truth. She felt even more stupid now that she had managed to upset Santana and turn the tables so that it was Santana reassuring her when it should have been the other way around.

"No!" Santana interrupted. "Brittany not everyone has a great memory. And maybe you aren't passing your classes with straight A's but you haven't failed a single one this year! So you need a little extra help. That's ok. It doesn't mean you're dumb," Santana told her.

"But Santana…" Brittany mumbled, not understanding why Santana was pushing this so hard. Surely Santana knew that she wasn't very smart? Santana had to help her with all of her homework and school projects and Tina had taken to giving Brittany extra help during their shared free period at school, not that Santana knew that, Brittany had been too embarrassed to tell her.

"No buts. You. Are. Not. Dumb," Santana argued, stressing each word. Brittany decided to let it go for now because Santana was starting to get agitated again and she knew that she needed calm and not fighting right now, and they settled back in to watch the movie.

"I'm sorry Santana," Brittany spoke after a few minutes of trying to swallow the guilt of upsetting Santana again. "I'm sorry about everything. I'm sorry about Abuela. I'm sorry I pushed you away for Artie," Once she started Brittany found that she couldn't stop. "I'm sorry that I broke your heart and I'm sorry that I pushed you to come out and that the Glee Club figured out what was going on because of Landslide and the t-shirt and what I said on the phone that time. And I'm sorry Finn used that to get to you and made all of this happen. I'm sorry that I'm doing this wrong! I'm just sorry!" Brittany was crying by the end, unable to hold it back anymore. "I'm sorry it's all my fault!"

"God Brittany," Santana choked out, twisting to wrap her arms around Brittany's neck. "Sweetheart none of this was your fault. It was mine. It was mine for treating you like shit, for leading you on and for pretending it all meant nothing to me when nothing meant more to me than you and I and what we have," Santana took a breath to try to figure out how to fix this. "And what do you mean you're 'doing this wrong'?" she asked in confusion, pulling back to meet Brittany's eyes again.

"I'm supposed to be strong! I'm supposed to be brave for you and look after _you_ but I'm not! I'm crying and now you're being brave and looking after me! Again!" Brittany wiped at her eyes angrily, furious with herself for letting Santana down. Santana stared at her, her mouth opening and closing as if she couldn't find the words that she wanted to say. Brittany looked away when Santana tried to make eye contact to get a read on her, fixing her eyes on a framed photograph of the two of them at cheer camp and tried desperately to stop herself from crying.

"Brittany," Santana said softly, her voice filled with disbelief. "Britt-Britt look at me," Santana shifted so that she was straddling Brittany's thighs and took hold of Brittany's face as gently as she could, her hands stroking over pale, wet cheeks. Brittany refused to look, Santana's gentle hands on her face made her want to dissolve into tears again and she wouldn't have that. She stubbornly kept her eyes on the photograph. "Britt please? Please just look at me, please," Santana pleaded. Brittany sucked in a shuddery breath but refused to shift her gaze to Santana. "Ok," Santana sighed unhappily. She stilled her hands with her palms on Brittany's cheeks and fixed her eyes on Brittany's. "Brittany I wish you would look at me but if you can't that's ok," she started. "Brittany you don't have to be strong for me. You don't have to be brave. Just being here is enough," Santana felt her heart speed up a little as she spoke; her anxiety about showing her feelings was deep-set and after the disaster of coming out to her Abuela it was even more heightened than usual. Brittany noticed her breathing speed up a little and unthinkingly her eyes snapped to meet Santana's, searching to see if she was alright. She received the sweetest smile in return and despite the strong urge to look away once again, Brittany found that she couldn't do it. "Britt it doesn't matter if you get upset when you see that I'm upset. It just matters that you're here with me, whether you're crying or laughing or mad or being goofy. I just need _you_," Santana shook her head, a little frustrated with her inability to get her message across the way she wanted to.

"But you're always so brave for me," Brittany replied after a beat, her voice tiny, timid and very confused.

"I'm not as brave as you think I am Britt. It kills me to see you upset," Santana swallowed hard.

"But _you_ don't cry when _I'm_ upset?" Brittany was still confused.

"Actually Britt, you're wrong," Santana was the one to break eye contact this time.

"But I've never seen you?" Santana almost smiled at the way Brittany was ducking her head, this way and that, trying to find her gaze.

"I wait 'til you're asleep," She admitted, her voice barely a whisper. She immediately regretted her admission when Brittany's face took on the most wounded, heartbroken expression she had ever seen. Brittany felt like someone had reached into her chest and ripped her heart in two as Santana's words sunk in.

"Santana," she breathed, swallowing hard in an attempt to rid herself of the lump in her throat. She had no words. So she lay back against the pillows and pulled Santana down on top of her, positioning her so that she was lying with her head against Brittany's chest. Brittany wrapped her arms tightly around Santana's upper arms and back, pleased when the shorter girl wriggled her own arms under Brittany's waist, pulling her closer. Santana's legs wriggled under Brittany's, her heels hooking behind the taller girls calves and she let out a loud, contented sigh. Brittany let out a little giggle.

"What?" Santana asked, lifting her head to peer at Brittany curiously.

"You're like a barnacle and I'm your whale," Brittany giggled again, feeling Santana's head bounce lightly on her chest as it vibrated. Santana let out a little giggle back at Brittany's cute analogy before snuggling deeper into her girlfriend and closing her eyes. They were quiet for a long time, both just enjoying the closeness and sounds of the movie playing in the background. It wasn't the most comfortable position for them to lie in but neither was willing to break the moment by moving. Santana jumped a little when she eventually felt Brittany shift beneath her and Brittany stroked a hand over her hair and down her back before reaching for the red blanket from earlier and dragging it over the both of them. She wrapped her arms tightly around Santana again once she had the blanket situated and rested her chin on the top of her head. "I guess we're both a little bit dumb sometimes huh?" Brittany said softly, voicing the thought that had been milling around in her head while they were sitting quietly.

"Hmmm," Santana replied with a lazy nod and Brittany could tell that she was close to sleep. "Definitely," she added around a yawn. Brittany dropped a kiss onto the top of Santana's head.

"Sweet dreams Santana," she whispered softly.

"Love you B," Santana replied distantly. Brittany smiled and stroked her hair as she felt her breathing slow down and even out as she drifted off to sleep. Brittany lay awake for a long time after Santana fell asleep, savouring the peace that she knew wouldn't last for too much longer. Santana was here now, safe and open and vulnerable in her arms, but come morning the other girl would have rebuilt the walls around her heart and firmly thrown up her defensive shields once again. Brittany just hoped that Santana would keep her in and let her help her through this. As her eyes began to get heavy Brittany spared a thought for the Trouble Tones and the New Directions who had been so lovely and supportive of Santana, of both of them, over the last few days and she wondered briefly if she should warn them that things hadn't gone well with Santana's Abuela and to expect the inevitable backlash. _She'd probably kill me if I did that _Brittany thought ruefully. As she finally began to drift off she hoped that the Glee kids would continue to stick by Santana when things got rough and more than that she hoped that Santana would continue to let them in. She had come so far and Brittany hoped that she could keep it up, embrace herself for all of her awesomeness and let go of this idea of keeping up appearances all of the time. Her last waking thought before her eyes drifted closed and sleep claimed her was that she hoped it wouldn't take Abuela too long to come around.

-G-

The song Brittany sings is 'One Day' by OpShop. If you haven't heard it I highly recommend it. Thanks for reading and I hope that you all enjoyed.


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